Conductor Robert Howarth was in jolly form and really made the music accessible for the audience, as he added little-known facts and musical hooks to the really quite drably-written programme notes.
With the sing-a-long nature it was a shame, however, that more tickets had not been sold.
Probably about half full, the vast space should have been fit to burst with revelling carollers, but instead it was the same old concert hall crowd, which was surprising as the presence of NYCoS could, and should, have brought in a more youthful following.
The first half started and finished with Handel, and Franck’s Panis Angelicus introduced tenor Iain Paton and provided the vocal highlight, although this was closely followed by a stylish solo verse of Once in Royal David’s City by a NYCoS soprano singer.
Mark O’Keeffe on trumpet performed Haydn’s popular Trumpet Concerto and a rousing rendition of Stanley’s Trumpet Voluntary. Welcoming Iain Paton back on stage for O Holy Night created another more reflective moment.
Vivaldi’s Gloria (opening chorus) opened the second half and the set dwindled a little with Schubert’s Ave Maria and Leopold Mozart’s Sleigh Ride; but the youngsters at NYCoS were on hand to lift the festive spirits with their prepared selection.
Culminating with a lively arrangement of Jingle Bells, it was great to hear their a cappella ability too.
With an encore of the 12 Days of Christmas and the big choral finish of We Wish You A Merry Christmas, it was surely impossible to leave without a light sprinkling of festive cheer.
Star rating: ***
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article